Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., walks to the chamber after a closed-door meeting with Republican lawmakers to advance the stalled GOP overhaul of the tax code.

J. Scott Applewhite/Associated Press

Good morning. As House and Senate lawmakers continue hashing out differences between their tax-overhaul bills, the prospect lingers that they could push the new corporate tax rate to 22% as opposed to the 20% mark, writes WSJ’s Theo Francis.

Both chambers passed bills that would have cut it to 20%, down from 35% today, as part of a broader package of tax-law changes, and lawmakers are eager to keep it there. Still, President Donald Trump has raised the possibility of such a change, and pressure is growing in some quarters to find money for a variety of interests, from lower-income workers to small grocers.

A 22% corporate rate instead of a 20% one is significant, amounting to about $200 billion in tax revenue over 10 years, based on a rule of thumb that puts each percentage point of corporate tax at about $100 billion over that period, tax experts say.

For U.S.-based companies, either cut would be sharply lower than today’s 35% statutory corporate rate, and push the U.S. rate below that of most major developed countries. “In the end, Corporate America will write a lovely thank-you note to the Congress of the United States, regardless which of those tax rates ends up being imposed,” said University of Southern California law professor Edward Kleinbard.

Meanwhile, banks are fighting to limit the scope of a provision meant to discourage companies from sending money overseas to avoid taxes. The way the provision is written in the Senate version of the tax bill could make some key bank businesses much more expensive, writes WSJ’s Telis Demos.

THE DAY AHEAD

The U.S. Labor Department is due to release November inflation data at 8.30 a.m. ET, with economists predicting a 0.4% uptick in the consumer-price index.

The airport in Helsinki, Finland, where GE’s two jets stopped to refuel, often within a half-hour of each other, on some trips around the globe, according to flight records.

Getty Images

GE probed who knew about spare jet for Immelt.General Electric Co. recently conducted an internal review into the flying of a spare business jet to accompany former Chief Executive Jeff Immelt, as it seeks to understand an unusual practice that went on for years and surprised investors when they learned of it in October.

Toyota sees half of sales coming from hybrids, EVs.Toyota Motor Corp.’s president on Wednesday became the latest auto chief to offer ambitious targets for hybrid and electric vehicles, saying the category would make up half of Toyota’s global sales by 2030.

Facebook to give countries a chance to tax local ads.Facebook Inc. plans to book more revenue in the countries where it sells ads, becoming the latest U.S. tech giant to bow to pressure from foreign governments to simplify its tax structure and potentially pay more income tax overseas.

Sears extends debt, eyes new borrowing. Sears Holdings Corp. extended the terms of a $400 million while announcing a new planned borrowing to cover pension contributions. Despite frequent predictions from short sellers of the company’s demise, the loan extension suggests that investors haven’t lost hope that Sears can stanch a persistent cash burn and weather a downturn in brick-and-mortar shopping nationwide.

Canada warns Boeing in launch of aircraft competition. Canada said Tuesday it intends to launch a competition next year to buy 88 new jet fighters that threatens to disqualify bidders that cause “harm” to the economy—another warning to Boeing Co. to drop its trade complaint against Canada’s Bombardier Inc.

Nintendo Looks for Help to Raise Its Smartphone Game.Nintendo Co. is looking to expand tie-ups with software developers to strengthen its smartphone-game lineup after an early alliance aimed at cracking the fast-growing mobile market fell behind schedule, people familiar with the matter told the Wall Street Journal.

Saudi Aramco ramps up spending.Saudi Arabian Oil Co. unveiled a plan to invest more than $40 billion a year in projects over the next decade, a significant expansion for the world’s largest energy company ahead of its expected public listing next year.

PepsiCo orders 100 Tesla Semis.PepsiCo Inc. has reserved 100 of Tesla Inc.’s new electric Semi trucks, the largest known order of the big rig, as the maker of Mountain Dew soda and Doritos chips seeks to reduce fuel costs and fleet emissions, reports Reuters.

Investors pledge cuts in fossil-fuel commitments.French insurer AXA SA said it would pull €2.4 billion ($2.8 billion) from the coal industry, shed all investment in oil sands and no longer insure new projects in either sector. Dutch lender ING said it would cut its exposure to coal power to zero by 2025 and the World Bank said it would no longer finance upstream oil and gas after 2019.

Interpublic names new CEO at Martin Agency.Interpublic Group of Cos. is installing new leadership at the Martin Agency, amid turmoil at the advertising agency following the departure of its top creative executive following allegations of sexual harassment.

REGULATION

Jay Clayton, chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2017.

Bloomberg News

New suite of board members appointed at PCAOB.Five new members were appointed Tuesday to oversee the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board. The picks include William Duhnke, a Republican Senate aide who will be the board’s chairman, and James Kaiser, a PwC partner, marking the first time an auditor has joined the regulator from a Big Four accounting firm.

Trump administration holds talks with airlines. The Trump administration met with major airlines on Tuesday to discuss complaints that some Gulf states are unfairly subsidizing state-owned carriers, reports Reuters. The meeting keeps up pressure on the Middle East airlines at the center of a spat with U.S. rivals.

ECONOMY

Expectations are high that the Federal Reserve will vote to raise short-term interest rates Wednesday.

Bloomberg News

Economists see three Fed rate hikes, lower unemployment in 2018. A WSJ survey finds economists expect the Federal Reserve’s benchmark interest rate to settle between 2.75% and 3% in the long term, with three rate increases on the cards for next year. Meanwhile, unemployment is expected to decline to 3.9% by the end of 2018.

Vibrant holiday sales spur late-season imports surge. Stronger-than-expected holiday sales have spurred a late-season surge in imports, as retailers restock their warehouses to keep up with e-commerce demand. At the Southern California ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, November’s container-cargo imports rose 8.4% from October and were up 10.6% over the same month last year.

Ally Financial Inc., a Detroit-based lender, named Jenn LaClairchief financial officer designate effective Dec. 18. Ms. LaClair next year will succeed current CFO Chris Halmy, who plans to retire as CFO effective March 1. Mr. Halmy became CFO of Ally Financial, formerly General Motor Co.’s financing arm, in 2013. Ms. LaClair is joining the company from PNC Financial Services Group Inc. where she was most recently the head of the business bank and was in charge of setting strategy, driving performance and managing risk. Her compensation details were not immediately available.

Edgewell Personal Care Co., the Chesterfield, Mo. maker of Schick razors and Diaper Genies, appointed Elizabeth Dreyeras interim CFO effective Dec. 6. Ms. Dryer has served as vice president, controller and chief accounting officer since July 2015, and previously held the same position for the personal care division since January 2015. Ms. Dreyer will be eligible to receive additional compensation of about $300,000 for assuming the duties. She succeeds Sandra Sheldon, who is leaving the company but will remain employed by Edgewell through January 2018 and assist with the transition of her responsibility. Edgewell said it has retained a search firm to launch a national search for Ms. Sheldon’s replacement.

F5 Networks Inc., the Seattle-based networking company, said CFO Andrew Reinland plans to retire during the third fiscal quarter, which ends June 30, 2018. Mr. Reinland will continue in his current role and will assist in conducting a thorough search for his successor, including consideration of internal and external candidates. Mr. Reinland became CFOin Oct. 2005, and previously served as vice president of finance. He had joined the company in 1998.

Swiss Re., the Swiss reinsurance company, namedJohn Dacey as new group finance chief effective April 1, 2018. He succeeds David Cole, who will step down to pursue a non-executive career at the company, while remaining a board member of several Swiss Re subsidiaries. Mr. Davey joined Swiss Re’s group executive committee as group chief strategy officer five years ago, and previously served as AXA’s regional CEO and group vice chairman for Asia pacific.

The Morning Ledger from CFO Journal cues up the most important news in corporate finance every weekday morning. Austen Hufford and Cara Lombardo contributed to today’s ledger. Send tips, suggestions and complaints to the editor: kimberly.johnson@wsj.com.

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Tax reform may present challenges for some organizations that prepare their financial statements using International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). They include, determining how an aspect of the legislation applies to an organization’s specific facts and circumstances, gathering data to quantify that application, or a combination of the two. Todd Izzo, partner, International Tax, and Paul Vitola, partner, Washington National Tax Group, both with Deloitte Tax LLP, discuss how the interaction between the new tax law and IFRS may play out with respect to net operating losses, the new global intangible low taxed income inclusion requirement, and other issues.

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